The fall salmon season is open from Buoy 10 upstream to the Oregon/Washington Border above McNary Dam.
Salmonid angling is good in the Bonneville Pool and the gorge.
White sturgeon retention is closed from Buoy 10 upstream to the Oregon/Washington Border above McNary Dam, but remains an option for catch and release fishing.
Walleye angling is good in The Dalles and John Day pools.
SALMON, STEELHEAD AND SHAD
On Saturday’s (9/30) flight, 582 salmonid boats and 22 Oregon bank anglers were counted from Tongue Point to Bonneville Dam; and 32 Oregon boats were counted at Buoy 10.
Cowlitz River – Below I-5: 12 bank anglers had no catch. 16 boats/56 rods kept 4 adult Chinook, 4 adult and 11 jack coho and released 2 jack and 17 adult Chinook, 2 steelhead, and 5 jack and 5 adult coho. Above the I-5 Bridge: 42 bank rods kept 1 jack and 3 adult Chinook, and 3 adult coho and released 5 adult Chinook, 1 steelhead, 1 jack and 2 adult coho, and 4 cutthroats. No boat anglers were sampled.
Cowlitz River from the barrier dam downstream is closed to retention of Chinook beginning Oct. 2.
The Columbia River from McNary Dam upstream to the Highway 395 bridge at Pasco/Kennewick is closed to fishing for steelhead until December 1. This area will remain open to fishing and harvest of salmon (chinook & coho). Any modifications to this closure will be posted on the WDFW website.
There were an estimated 714 angler trips for salmon and steelhead in the McNary to Snake River portion of the Columbia River this past week. WDFW staff interviewed 51 anglers from 32 boats and 98 bank anglers fishing for steelhead/salmon. Anglers reported harvesting three hatchery steelhead, 3 adult chinook, and 1 coho.
There have been 2,187 angler trips for steelhead/salmon in the McNary area through September 30 with a harvest of 23 steelhead, 21 adult chinook, 3 jack chinook, and 5 coho. An additional 9 wild steelhead have been released. Angler effort and harvest was well below last season.
Bonneville Pool (Bonneville Dam upstream to The Dalles Dam):
Weekly checking showed two Chinook jacks kept, plus one coho adult released for eight bank anglers; and 34 Chinook adults, seven Chinook jacks, eight coho adults and one steelhead kept for 41 boats (109 anglers).
The Dalles Pool (The Dalles Dam upstream to John Day Dam):
Weekly checking showed eight Chinook adults and eight Chinook jacks kept for 53 boats (163 anglers).
John Day Pool (John Day Dam upstream to McNary Dam):
Weekly checking showed seven Chinook adults, one Chinook jack and three coho adults kept for 14 boats (27 anglers).
Yakima River
Yakima River Fall Salmon Fishery Update: Sept 1- Oct 1 – Fall chinook counts into the Yakima River have been slow and steady over the past two weeks at ~50 chinook per day (Columbia River DART). WDFW staff interviewed 182 anglers this past week with 16 adult salmon and 3 jacks observed in the harvest (29 hours per fish). Most of the harvest has been recorded in the areas just downstream of the Grant Ave bridge.
There were an estimated 831 angler trips for salmon in the lower Yakima River this past week with a total of 2,589 angler trips for the season. An estimated 138 adult chinook and 10 jack chinook have been harvested this season. Fishing should continue to improve over the next few weeks of the season.
Trout
Goose Lake, (Skamania County) was stocked with over 2000 one-pound cutthroat trout in August, and received another 530 cutthroats on September 30.
Walleye
The Dalles Pool: Weekly checking showed 13 walleye kept for eight boats (16 anglers).
John Day Pool: Weekly checking showed 88 walleye kept, plus 52 walleye released for 24 boats (46 anglers).
